Felidae Giganticus
by Androclez
Summary: A new menace has befallen planet Mobius taking a surprising form, and Cream is unwittingly caught in the middle of it! Can Tails and Vector save the world while helping Vanilla with her parenting? -- Also featuring Sonic, Nack, Rouge, and surprise guests.
1. Chapter 1

**Felidae Giganticus  
by Androclez**

PART ONE:

One bright, sunny day on planet Mobius...

_Cream The Rabbit and her Chao companion Cheese were playing a spirited game of make-believe at their peaceful forest home. Cream was flying all through the house pretending she was on some sort of adventure. She provided her own narrative and sound effects._

"Whoosh, whoossshhh! Isn't it exciting Cheese? We're soaring through the Hilltop Zone," said Cream.

CLANK!  
_Cream bumped into a ceiling fixture as she was dipping and diving all around the room._

"No flying in the house dear," scolded Vanilla, her mother.

"Lookit Cheese! A badnik! Shwoosh!" said Cream, as she hurled Cheese at the imaginary robot enemy.

Crr-rack!  
_In reality Cream had just thrown Cheese into a vase of flowers, cracking it apart._

"Cream! What is the meaning of all this roughhousing?!" asked Vanilla.

"Sorry mommy, I'm just trying to be an adventurer like Sonic," said Cream.

"Well I don't know if that Sonic character is such a good role model for you. Or Tails for that matter. He's much too young to be piloting those dangerous machines he rides in," said Vanilla.

"But mommy, Sonic is the hero of Mobius! And I want to be just like him," said Cream.

"Well there's got to be a limit to it," said Vanilla.  
"Why, just look at how those flowers that nice Mr. Vector brought for us have been ruined."

"I'll go get you some more flowers just like them," said Cream.

"Don't worry about it Cream, those flowers only grow deep in the Jardinia Zone," said Vanilla.  
"It's far too dangerous for a girl your age to venture into alone."

"I can take care of myself," said Cream.  
"I've even helped Sonic before."

"Yes but the more I think about it, the more I don't like it," said Vanilla.  
"Besides, you're too little to be responsible all by yourself. That's different from helping Sonic and other grownups."

"I can be responsible," said Cream.  
"Don't you trust me mommy?"

"Just do as I say for now," said Vanilla.

_With that, Cream went outside to play._

Meanwhile, on a far-off island...

_Two professional treasure hunters / thugs for hire, are preparing their cargo for trade. The notorious Nic and Nack The Weasels have been hunting rare animal species at the request of a wealthy buyer. Each of the subdued specimens are bound with a high tech sedation collar which temporarily neutralizes their physical and mental capabilities, effectively taming them. Then they are thrown into cages, or rather, elaborate containment spheres which look almost like space pods._

_The two poachers are now chipping away at ice as they await the arrival of their unscrupulous sponsor._

"I thought this was a hunting gig! Nobody said anything about ice-mining," complained Nic.

"This frozen guy is the most important specimen to the boss," Nack explained.  
"So keep picking away!"

_After the weasely duo had successfully unearthed the ancient creature from its icy tomb, they left it to thaw. Before long, a rather large aircraft landed next to them and a couple of robot guards stepped out to receive them._

"It's about time," said Nack.  
"Here, help us get these critters inside the ship," he instructed the robotic drones.

_They transferred the caged animals inside, including the frozen one which had also been haphazardly tossed into a cage for easier transportation._

_As Nic and Nack finished moving the cargo, a small man came out of the captain's chambers to greet them. It was Robotnik's sniveling little underling: __**Snively**__!  
But Snively wasn't his usual quavering self today. He actually looked overjoyed._

"Ah, splendid! Splendid!" sang Snively, as he gaily flitted about the room, observing the wondrous specimens they had procured.

_Eventually Snively came to the thawing specimen. He glanced at it through the narrow openings interspersed across the high-tech cage._

"This is the special one we talked about then?" he asked.

"Straight from the permafrost," said Nic.

"Oh dear! Why isn't he wearing a restraining collar?" asked Snively.

"I reckon it's 'cause the thing is bound to be dead anyways," Nack chuckled.

"You fools! This creature is very liable to have survived such an ordeal," snapped Snively.  
"This is no ordinary animal, I thought I made that clear!"

"Calm down fella, whadya 'spect us to do everything?" asked Nic.  
"We ain't even got paid yet."

"Apply the restraining device to this creature at once!" ordered Snively.  
"Then you'll get your _money_," he spat.

"If that thing is as wild as you make it sound, I dunno if I wanna go in there," said Nic.

"You're right, I guess you're too chicken to handle this," said Nack.  
"Better leave this job to a real pro. I'll go in there and collar it myself."

"I'll show you who's pro!" Nic snapped, as she snatched the collar and entered the cage.

"Works every time," Nack muttered under his breath.

_But before Nic could get the collar onto the creature, it suddenly woke up and grabbed hold of her leg!_

"What the divil?!" she exclaimed.

"Blast!" Snively shouted, as he ran to close the cage door.

_Nic grabbed onto Snively's arm for assistance, while he was near the cage._

"Don't lock me in here! Get me out!" she demanded.

"Let go of me you foolish woman!" yelled Snively.

"I can slip through this opening in the cage if you get this dang animal off me!" shouted Nic.

"Guards! Subdue the creature!" Snively ordered.

_The robots began applying powerful electric shocks to the beast, but this only agitated it more. The animal kept pulling even harder on Nic's legs, but she held onto Snively as he tried to pull her out of the cage._

"I need some help here!" Snively called to Nack.  
"Help me pull! Get me away from here! Do _something_!"

_Nack grabbed onto Snively, forming a sort of chain with himself, Snively, his sister, and the beast. Nack continued to tug on Snively, but the monster's strength proved far superior. As Nic was pulled further into the cage, Snively was pulled along with her until his face was rammed up against the bars. He looked directly into the creature's vicious eyes. Frightened by their glare, Snively realized that the electrodes wouldn't be enough to defeat it. He would have to use deadly force._

"Shoot her!" Snively frantically exclaimed.  
"Shoot heeeeerrr!!!!!!"

"Don't you mean shoot _**him**_?" Nack inquired.  
"I thought this specimen thingy was a male."

"I'm not talking about shooting the priceless specimen!" snapped Snively.  
"I'm talking about this stupid, bloody weasel female who's about to get both of us killed!"

"I'm his sister, you creep!" Nic protested.

"Who cares, I know where my paycheck is coming from," said Nack.

POW!  
POW!  
_Nack executed his former partner in crime, enabling Snively to wriggle free from her grasp. While the monster was busy consuming Nic's corpse, the robot attendants were able to finish securing the collar around its neck, using extension poles to reach inside the cage._

_The beast grew alarmed as it felt the collar draining its vitality away._

"Hm?! Urrrrggggghhhhhh!!!" the creature howled.

_It began thrashing about the cage wildly; violently rocking the ship back and forth._

"Hey! I thought this was supposed to calm it down!" said Nack.

_As the crew was tossed about the ship, Nack's elbow accidentally hit the emergency escape lever, ejecting most of the cargo from the ship._

"Close the hatch you fool!" Snively shouted.

_Nack pushed the lever back into place, shutting the hatch. But not before the strange, violent creature had been lost._

"Now look what you've done!" complained Snively.  
"You've lost the prime specimen!"

"Hey! This never would've happened if your weird collar hadn't made the thing go berserk!" Nack argued.  
"I can't be blamed for your faulty equipment."

"The equipment worked fine! If only you'd used it properly," said Snively.  
"The collar would have neutralized the monster's powers, before it ever woke up!"

"You still owe me," said Nack.

"You can't expect me to reward you for this botched job!" said Snively.  
"Especially after such a major loss as the main specimen."

"What about my loss?!" countered Nack.  
"I should be recompensed for injuries suffered."

"Ah yes, your lost sister..." said Snively.

"Heck naw!" scoffed Nack.  
"I'm talkin' bout my arm, man! That dang lever of yours hit me right on the funny bone! But now that you mention it, I oughtta get somethin' fer her too!"

"You had just better retrieve that cargo of mine!" demanded Snively.

"Okay, but it'll cost you extra," warned Nack.

Meanwhile, at Cream's house...

_After cleaning the mess Cream had made, Vanilla prepared their evening meal and was now putting the finishing touches on it._

"Cre~eam, dinner's ready!" she called.  
"Come on inside before it gets cold."

_But Cream didn't answer._

"Where is that willful child of mine?" Vanilla wondered.

_Finally Vanilla grew tired of waiting, so she stepped outside to retrieve the girl herself. But Cream was nowhere to be found!_

"Oh no! She might've run off to that wildflower field I warned her about!" thought Vanilla.

_Immediately, Vanilla left for Tails' place, seeking aid for her wayward daughter despite her earlier criticism of the boy genius._

_Upon entering Tails' fort-house, she found Sonic slouched in a corner with an empty snack bag laying on the floor beside him. He was sucking powdered cheese from off his fingers while holding a beer in his other hand._

"Sonic, I'm glad I found you!" Vanilla exclaimed.  
"Cream has run off somewhere and I think she's in trouble! I need your help."

_Sonic stretched, yawned, and burped._

"Listen honey, I ain't your errand boy, and I ain't no babysitter," Sonic drawled.  
"If you lookin' for somebody to go chasing after your badtail wild child, you better ask Mr. Public Servant himself: **Tails**."

"Well!" Vanilla huffed.  
"And just where is Miles, if I may ask?"

"Th' hell am I s'posed to know?" scoffed Sonic.

"I thought you were best friends," said Vanilla.  
"You do seem to be cohabiting with him."

"I'm just crashing here temporarily," said Sonic.  
"You know I ain't got no house. But I still ain't stuttin' that little poindexter flyboy."

"Oh, whatever shall I do?" Vanilla fretted.

_Vector walked up to the front door and Sonic spotted him outside through the window._

"There go Vector," said Sonic, pointing outside.  
"Maybe you can get him to do your bidding. You seem to have him pretty whipped anyway."

"Hey Sonic, I'm back!" announced Vector.  
"I got the Cheetos, man."

"Give 'em here," demanded Sonic, with a greedy grin.  
"Oh, and see what this girl wants," he added, motioning towards Vanilla.

"Ah, Miss Vanilla! I didn't see you over there," said Vector.  
"To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Cream has run off again and I'm worried about her," said Vanilla.  
"I think she's off in the wildflower field over on the outskirts of the Jardinia Zone."

"Hmm, I see," said Vector, scratching his chin thoughtfully.  
"That's a pretty wild zone out there, and it's not far from Robotropolis either. She could be in danger!"

"Won't you please help me?" Vanilla requested.

"Of course! Anything for you Vanilla," said Vector, pounding his chest.

"Oh, thank you!" said Vanilla.

"We'll get there faster with Tails' plane," said Vector.  
"I think he was up in the attic tinkering with some of his gadgets."

_The two of them went up to Tails' attic._

_Tails was busy polishing his prized, classic biplane._

"Hmm, what should I call this latest update?" Tails pondered.  
"The Tornado 5.0? The Tornado Excelsior?"

"Tails! Cream needs help!" Vector abruptly burst out.  
"Can we hitch a ride to the Jardinia Zone?" he asked.

"Good a time as any for a test run," Tails thought to himself.  
"Sure. I'll get ready for departure," he agreed.

_Tails immediately sprung into action, clearing the runway, firing up the engine, and preparing for takeoff. Vector and Vanilla sat in the back seat, and the three of them set off in search of Cream._

_As they entered the Jardinia Zone, Tails lowered his altitude so as to get a better view of where Cream might be. He had to do some pretty fancy piloting to navigate through the vast, hanging limbs of the local flora. He successfully eliminated several badniks that were patrolling through the area. They finally reached the wildflower field._

"There's Cream! Right in that patch of purple flowers!" Vanilla exclaimed, pointing ahead.

_Tails swooped down for a landing and the trio exited the Tornado._

"Cream! You had us so worried!" cried Vanilla, as she ran to hug her daughter.  
"What are you doing in a place like this?"

"I was just trying to get some more of the flowers that Mr. Vector got from here," explained Cream.

"Oh no, this is all my fault!" gasped Vector.

_He fell to Vanilla's feet apologetically._

"Dear, sweet Vanilla, will you ever forgive me?!" Vector groveled.

"Never mind that," Vanilla sighed disinterestedly.  
"Cream, didn't I tell you not to come here? There were bad robots and dangerous wildlife all through here."

"I wanted to show you that I can be more grownup, all by myself," said Cream.  
"I need more inde-... _independence_," she added.

"Aren't you like, six?" Tails remarked.

"You're young too, but you still get to do grownup things," argued Cream.

"Yeah, but I'm smart!" Tails exclaimed.  
"_**You**_ still think TV is real!"

"Humph! I'm a lot smarter than you think," huffed Cream.  
"I'm gonna to grow up to be a vet-er-i-nar-i-an. I'll look after all the little animals, and the plants too!"

"A noble goal," Tails admitted, with a slightly patronizing smile.

"But you're not grown up yet Cream," Vanilla interjected.

"I'm not a baby anymore!" insisted Cream.  
"You've got to start trusting me more, mom."

"I do?" asked Vanilla, rhetorically.

_Just then, a loud crash thundered off in the distance.  
_WHOOMPH!

"What in the world was that?" asked Vector.

"Something fell from the sky," said Tails.  
"Maybe it wasn't of _'this world'_..." he added with a curious smile.

"I wanna see!" Cream shouted, as she ran towards the source of the sound.

"Cream! Come back here!" yelled Vanilla, as she went after her.

_The others followed._

Meanwhile, at the crash site...

_The spaceship-like cage which had just crashed to the ground landed next to a tree in which Rouge the Bat happened to be perched. The force of the crash knocked her from her comfy limb and she plummeted into the dirt._

"Ah!" Rouge screeched, as she hit the ground.

_When Rouge collected herself, she spotted the cage and began to approach it. As she drew nearer, she felt something squishy under her foot and looked down to find that she had stepped on a small frog._

~squish~  
-croak!-

"Yuck!" Rouge exclaimed.

_Upon further examination she realized that the frog was still alive. But she also noticed something more extraordinary. A small gemstone had come out of the frogs mouth after she stepped on it!_

_This gave Rouge an idea._

"Meh. What the heck, why not?" she said to herself.

_Rouge raised her foot up and stamped it down on the frog again. And again, an emerald came out. She continued the process until several more emeralds came out._

~squish-squish-squish-squish~

"Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!" Rouge squealed in between each squish.

_Finally there were no more gemstones after eight had come out. Rouge quickly scooped them up from the ground before the frog could gobble them up again. But it jumped onto her shoulder and began staring at her._

"Gross! What do you want?!" Rouge cringed.

_She shook her arm vigorously, trying to get rid of the frog. But he hung on and even started slapping her face with his tongue!_

Slmack!  
Slmack!

"Ew! Yuck! Get off, get off, get off!" she shrieked.

_That's when Tails and company sauntered onto the scene. She quickly hid her arms behind her back, concealing the frog. She had the gemstones tightly clutched in her other hand behind her back._

"Rouge? What are you doing here?" asked Vector.

"As a matter of fact, I was resting in that tree when this thing crashed next to me and knocked me down!" Rouge griped.

"Well, we'll handle things from here," said Vector.

"Be my guest! It's all yours," said Rouge, as she quickly flew away.

"Hmm, she seems to be up to something," remarked Vector.

"Isn't she always?" Vanilla muttered under her breath.

"Let's have a closer look at whatever is in here," said Tails, as he eagerly approached the cage.

_Tails soon figured out how to unlock the device. The cage opened to reveal a large, very obese, purple, catlike creature with black stripes. The creature appeared quite docile. Suddenly, it let out a loud, bizarre sounding moan._

Muuuhguwhoooo~....

"Ah!" Tails jumped back in fear.

"D'uh, ......Fwoggy???" the creature slurred.

"What the heck is this thing?!" Vector wondered aloud.

"Beats me," said Tails.  
"But from the looks of this structure he crash-landed in, it seems like a cage of some sort. I'd say Robotnik was probably transporting this thing in his ship and it dropped down here unintentionally."

"Either that or he dropped it down here on purpose, so it could get us," said Vector.

"Scary thought, but it's possible," said Tails.

_Suddenly the creature started making a distorted gurgling noise. Its body spontaneously expanded to a larger and more muscular shape! But immediately afterward, it started to grasp ahold of the collar around its neck, as if it were in pain. Then it began to gasp frantically until it reverted back to its original, rotund shape._

"What in blazes was that?!" gasped Tails.

"That meanie Mister Robotnik must have hurt him and put this collar around his neck!" decided Cream.  
"We've got to help him!"

"How about we help _ourselves_ by getting the heck outta here!" suggested Tails.

"I heard that!" Vector chimed in agreement.

"Mommy, we've got to do something!" pleaded Cream.

"I suppose we can't just abandon a poor creature that's been victimized by Dr. Robotnik," said Vanilla.

"Well he's already free from the cage," said Tails.  
"Can't we just let him graze in the field or something?"

"But the collar!" exclaimed Cream.  
"I think it's hurting him!"

_Cream ran up to the cat and started tugging on the collar around its neck._

"It won't come off!" said Cream.  
"There's no buckle or anything."

"Maybe we can fly him back to Tails' workshop and find something to get that collar off with," Vanilla suggested.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a sec!" Tails objected.  
"How am I supposed to fit this fat f***er into my biplane with all of y'all already crowding out the back?!"

"I can fit in the back with the big guy," said Cream.

"What about the rest?" asked Tails.

"I guess I can sit in your lap, and Vector can just walk home," Vanilla offered.

"In my lap..." Tails repeated.

"I don't know if I like this arrangement," said Vector.  
"I have to walk and Tails gets to stay?"

"Of course silly, he's the pilot," said Vanilla.

"I still don't know if I want that scary, weird looking creature in my plane!" said Tails.

"He may look a little... '**different**.' But he's still a fellow Mobian," said Vanilla.  
"And besides, this seems to mean a lot to Cream."

_Seeing the reluctance in Tails' demeanor, Vanilla bent over to address the youngster face-to-face._

"I know you're the real hero of this planet Tails, so do it for Mobius," said Vanilla.  
"Do it for **me**," she added, as she ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Oh, all right," Tails relented.

_They all piled into the biplane in the agreed-upon seating arrangement. Cheese hopped into the back with Cream, even though he was prettymuch forgotten at this point, with Cream being so excited about her new 'friend.'  
The old Tornado was never so loaded down as it was today. The vessel took off in flight back to Tails' pad, riding a little lower than usual._

_And they really did leave Vector behind._

Meanwhile...

_As soon as Rouge had gotten a safe distance away from the others, she addressed the issue of the persistent frog that wouldn't let go of her._

"Unbelievable! He must want the jewels back," thought Rouge.

_She deftly tucked the little gems away into her... hiding places, and then quickly switched them out with fakes, feeding the duds to the frog. Satisfied, the animal left her alone and hopped away. Rouge took the emeralds back out to examine them, placing them each in a storage jar one by one._

"Ah, most of them are very nice cuts," she remarked.  
"But I don't need this little misshapen one," she said, looking at a tiny, cracked sliver of a gem.

_She tossed the small one on the ground, and to her utter shock and devastation, there was an explosion!_

BOOM!

_As the smoke cleared she stood dazed, confused, and covered in ash. The injured bat staggered around for a bit, and then passed out._

END PART ONE


	2. Chapter 2

**Felidae Giganticus**

PART TWO:

Later, back at Tails' place...

_Tails made an extra careful landing on his homemade runway. Both pilot as well as passengers safely exited the aircraft. Unfortunately the Tornado was noticeably worse for ware, after the arduous journey home._

"Okay big fella, lets go get you taken care of," said Cream, as she took the cat creature by the hand.

"My **baby**..." Tails whimpered, as he gingerly stroked his hand over his battered biplane.

"Hmm, I guess we'll need a name for you," said Cream, ignoring Tails' grief.  
"How about 'Big?' That seems to suit you."

"Now we just need to find a way to remove his collar," said Vanilla.

"Don't worry, I'll find something!" said Cream, dashing off in search of Tails' tool shed.

"Hold on sweetie, you need adult supervision!" said Vanilla.

_Cream had already run around the corner, and Vanilla didn't see where she went from there. Vanilla looked all around the estate, trying to find Cream. Finally she located the tool shed, but as she entered the room, she was shocked by what she saw. Big was sprawled out on the floor and Cream was standing over him with a huge chain saw!_

"This oughtta cut through that lousy old collar!" said Cream, as she revved up the chain saw.

Vroo-vroo-rrroommm!  
Buzzzzzzz...

"Wha-wha-wha-WHOA!" Big screamed, in terror.

"Put that deadly device down this instant!" Vanilla demanded.

"But mom! Nothing else was working to get the collar off!" said Cream.

"I don't care! You ought not to be handling a dangerous tool like that," said Vanilla.

"I thought you said you were gonna start trusting me more," Cream pouted.

"This is different Cream, you could really get hurt!" said Vanilla.  
"In case you hadn't noticed, that thing you're waving around in your hands is a bit more dangerous than a wildflower field!"

"So all that talk about trusting me, and letting me make my own choices was just a lie?!" Cream whined.

"What are you talking about?!" yelled Vanilla.  
"I don't think I even said that!"

"Fine! I can just move in with Amy, at her place in the city," Cream snapped.

_Cream angrily hurled the chainsaw to the floor, barely missing Big as he jumped out of the way just in time. Then she stormed off, with Big left still collared._

"So, _Miss Independent the hedgehog_ is the one who put all these crazy ideas in my daughter's head," Vanilla concluded.  
"That hardheaded, man-chasing, minidress-wearing, little pink hussy!"

_Vector had walked into the room as he had just arrived back at Tails' place._

"So, Cream has been acting-up a lot lately, eh Vanilla?" he asked.

"Oh, hello Vector," said Vanilla, as she just noticed his presence.  
"Yes she has. I don't know what I'm going to do with that little girl of mine," she sighed.

"I hate to see you distressed my dear," said Vector.

"But what can I do about her?" asked Vanilla.

"I dunno. I guess you could just do the obvious and give her a whupping," said Vector, matter-of-factly.

"Oh Vector!" Vanilla chided him, playfully.

"No, I'm serious!" insisted Vector.  
"Whup her butt! That's what she needs."

"Maybe I should," Vanilla chuckled.

CRASH!  
_The jovial mood was disrupted as Vanilla and Vector heard a door loudly crash open in another part of the house._

"What was that noise?!" asked Vanilla.

"Could be an intruder. I'll go check it out," said Vector.

Meanwhile, in the front room of the house...

_Sonic was still wallowing in the floor watching the telly, when suddenly the front door crashed open and the villainous treasure hunter, Nack the Weasel, stormed in with his gun ready._

"What up, fool?" Sonic greeted him.

"Well, if it ain't the original glory hog himself!" declared Nack, as the two of them pounded their fists together, familiarly.  
"What is your ole' lazy butt up to these days? Leeching offa these poor folks here?" asked Nack.

"You know I do how I do," Sonic replied.

"Yeah, always runnin' a scam," Nack chuckled.  
"When you're not busy tricking folks into thinking you're the hero of Mobius, you always be in somebody's kitchen, eating up their food!"

"And just what brings your ugly mug down to these parts?" asked Sonic.

"I got me a job," said Nack.  
"Doing a little poaching for some rich dude. You seen a big, fat cat around here? Purple, striped, and freaky all over?"

"I think them kids brung something like that up in here," said Sonic.

"Where they at?" asked Nack.

"What do I look like, a receptionist?" asked Sonic.  
"Find 'em yourself, unless you plan on giving me a cut of your pay."

"I'll just get their attention then," said Nack.

_He walked to the center of the room and started randomly firing his gun through the house.  
_Boom!-Boom!-Pow!

_Just then, Vector was arriving on the scene, and Tails soon followed._

"Nack The Weasel!" growled Vector.

"What is the meaning of this?!" demanded Tails.

"I came for the catbeast," said Nack.

"Do you mean Big?" asked Vanilla, who was now standing behind Vector.

"Yeah he's _big_ all right," said Nack.  
"Big, nasty, and ugly too."

"No, 'Big' is his name," explained Vanilla.

"All I need to know is that I'm on the right trail," said Nack, as he turned to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?!" asked Tails.

"To hunt down my mark! What's it look like?" Nack scoffed.

"You think you're just gonna walk out of here after you shot a bunch of holes in my house!" screamed Tails.  
"You're not leaving until you pay for this!"

"Ha! Kiss my tail, you little punk-*** b****!" Nack laughed, as he walked to the door.

"Oh, you must not know who I am!" Tails growled.

_Tails quickly flipped open a secret control panel on his countertop, and flipped a switch. Mechanized cords shot up through the floor and ceiling, wrapping around Nack's arms and legs, completely binding his movements._

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Nack roared.

_Tails stomped over towards Nack and b****-slapped him in the face with his tails!  
_WHAP!

"Ow!" Nack grunted.

"Ha, ha, haa! Who da b*tch now?!" Sonic howled with laughter.

"Shut up man! It ain't funny!" Nack protested.

"You should'na messed with the boy's crib," said Sonic.  
"He spent a lotta time pimping this place out."

"Now you can either give me my money, or I'ma have me a weaselskin rug for the living room," said Tails.

"Fine! It's in my money belt!" said Nack.

_Tails ripped the belt off and got his money out. Then he tossed the whole belt aside._

"Now I'm gonna need some information," said Tails.  
"What do you want with that big cat?"

"I believe I can enlighten this matter," said a voice from outside.

_Everyone looked up and saw Snively calmly walk through the broken doorway._

"Snively!" Vector exclaimed.  
"Looks like we've finally gotten to the rotten core of this plot."

"Call it what you like, but if that creature is allowed to roam free, it could prove a greater threat than any of us," Snively warned.

"I want the whole story," said Tails.

"The Felidae Giganticus, or Big The Cat as you call him, is a monstrous fiend from the ancient world," explained Snively.  
"He was sealed away in an icy prison for millennia, until he was recently reawakened."

"Lemme take a wild guess as to who's responsible for that happening!" scoffed Vector.

"We had the creature contained, until this bumbling oaf let it get away from our ship!" snapped Snively, looking in Nack's direction.

"You can't push all the blame off on me!" Nack protested.  
"If your equipment had worked right-"

"The equipment is the only thing keeping the creature contained now!" Snively interrupted.

"So now this thing could go berserk at any moment and all we have to rely on keeping it neutralized is Robotnik's 'great' technology," muttered, Vector.

"I don't even know where Big is right now!" said Vanilla.  
"I didn't see which way he went after he left the tool shed... he could be with Cream! She could be in danger!"

"I guess we have to go clean up after Snively and Robotnik's screwups," said Vector.  
"For the kid's sake."

"You can't do it without my help!" said Snively.  
"I'm the only one who can control it."

"Obviously you can't, or else it wouldn't be running loose now!" said Vector.

"What's your stake in this anyway, Snively?" asked Tails.  
"Normally we're the ones that have to save the day when one of Robotnik's schemes goes awry. Are you just looking for an excuse why we shouldn't lock you up right now?"

"Listen, if Dr. Robotnik finds out about this fiasco, there will be hell to pay," Snively gravely replied.

"So you'll get in trouble for losing your boss' latest experiment," asserted Vector.

"It's worse than that," said Snively.  
"Dr. Robotnik doesn't know about this little side project of mine, and I'd like to keep it that way! If you cooperate with me, I will make sure that this menace is contained!"

"Okay, Snively does have more background knowledge on the target, so I say we include him," Tails suggested.

"All right, you can come along but I've got my eye on you," said Vector, waving his finger at Snively.

"Very well," said Snively.  
"My ship is parked in a field, not too far from here."

"And I'll go get the Tornado ready," said Tails.

"Wait a sec! What about me?!" yelled Nack.  
"Ain't you s'posed to let me go?"

"We'll let you go later," said Tails.  
"...to prison, that is."

"What?! But I thought we had a deal!" said Nack.

"Don't worry, I'll let you keep your worthless pelt, just like we agreed," said Tails, with a smirk.  
"Could you take care of the wrap-up Vector?"

"I'm on it Tails," said Vector.

_Vector picked Nack's gun up from the floor and broke it in half over his knee. Then he threw it in the trash and patted Nack down for any other weapons, of which he found several. After strip searching Nack, he left him tied up in Tails' trap and followed the others to the field where Snively had landed his ship._

Meanwhile...

_While Nack intruded rather forcefully into Tails' abode, there was another little villainous minion quietly lurking about the neighborhood..._

_Robotnik's messenger robot, Bokkun was sneaking through the area, looking for clues as to what Snively might be up to. Although Bokkun was not expressly deployed on this mission by Robotnik, he thought it would be wise to look out for his boss' interests by keeping an eye on Snively's activities, and possibly score a few points with the eggman in the process._

_As Bokkun was snooping around tonight, he spotted one of those pesky Mobians who hangs out with Sonic sometimes. It was none other than Cream The Rabbit. She was sulking by herself in a garden about a half mile from Tails' house, just after she ran from the tool shed._

_Bokkun noticed that the rabbit girl looked sad and he became curious. He decided to see what was the matter, as he might be able to press her for some information after all._

"What are you doing out here all by yourself, little missy?" asked Bokkun, menacingly.

"One of Eggman's robots!" Cream exclaimed.

"Not just any robot," said Bokkun.  
"I am messenger robo, Bokkun."

"Go away, you!" Cream ordered.

"What?! Why you little..." Bokkun stammered.  
"What's the matter with you anyway?"

"It's all your fault, you and your Mister Eggman are the ones who put that terrible collar on my new friend, Big The Cat," said Cream.

"Collar? ...big cat?" Bokkun wondered out loud.

"Yes, and you locked him in that awful cage we found out in the forest," said Cream.

("Sheesh! This girl was easy to pick for information," thought Bokkun.)  
("She's singing like a canary!")

"It must be Snively's doing," Bokkun mumbled to himself.

"I won't forgive your cruelty to the animals!" said Cream.

"Take it easy! Maybe I can help your friend," said Bokkun.

"Why would you want to help me?" asked Cream, suspiciously.

"Nevermind!" snapped Bokkun, getting a bit flushed.  
"You say he had a collar on, right? A mechanical one that wouldn't come off? I can take you to the ship where they put the collar on. You need a special device in there to take the collar off. Follow me!"

"I'm not sure if I should go with you," said Cream, tentatively.

"What's the matter? Are you scared because the grownups aren't around? Because you don't have a hero to protect you?" Bokkun jeered.

"I can take care of myself!" Cream sniffed, proudly.

"Then follow me," said Bokkun.

"Okay, I'll get Big so we can bring him along," said Cream.

_Cream and Bokkun flew off and found Big in another section of that same garden. They led him all the way back to Snively's ship. Bokkun had been monitoring Snively's movements lately, and although he didn't know exactly what the straying lackey was up to, he knew his ship had landed in the area this evening._

_The trio shortly arrived at Snively's ship, while Snively and the gang were still en route from Tails' place._

_Cream gazed around the vessel, looking for something to get the collar off._

"I wonder which one of these devices can remove this collar," she pondered out loud.

"Try the one labeled 'collar removal device'," said Bokkun.

_Cream pushed, or rather prodded the giant cat onto a reclining chair underneath the device._

"D'uh... huh?" Big babbled.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit," said Cream.  
"...will it?" she asked, looking to Bokkun.

_Bokkun merely shrugged his shoulders and flipped the lever on the device. A large pair of scissors descended from a crane, unceremoniously snipping the collar from around Big's neck._

_As soon as the collar fell off, Big inflated to an even greater size and grew muscular, sort of like when they first met him, only more so. And he didn't revert back to his overweight state this time._

"You did it! I'm totally free! Free~ee!" Big exclaimed.

"You can talk?" asked Cream, in amazement.

"Intelligently?" added Bokkun, in surprise.

"Hey, of course I can," Big chuckled.  
"Collar kept me retarded. And that's not all..."

_Big struck a dramatic pose as he prepared to show off another of his newly unlocked abilities. He opened his mouthed incredibly wide and let out a loud, extremely long and grotesque croaking noise, similar to that of a frog but much more prolonged and distorted._

BLUUURRRP!!!!!!!!!!

_The disgusting sound reverberated throughout the entire structure, shaking the walls. At length, there was a sparkling of light in front of Big and a small frog materialized before him, as if out of thin air._

"Hey, Froggy! There you are buddy," said Big.

"Wow, cool!" Cream exclaimed.  
"Is that your pet or something?"

"Pet?" Big repeated.  
"Yeah I guess you could say so. _'Pet,'_ _'familiar.'_ Y'know, whatever. "But watch what he can do."

_Froggy opened his mouth and regurgitated several small gemstones. Big proceeded to scoop them all into his palm._

"I've been waiting a long time to get my hands on these babies," Big grinned.  
"I hold within my hand, the power to change the world!"

"Are you going to use those little gems to protect all the plants and free the little forest creatures so that there can be beautiful flower gardens everywhere?" asked Cream.

"Heh! Yeah right," Big chuckled.  
"With what I got right here, I can... I can... waitaminute!"

_Big closely examined the jewels in his hand._

"Hey, these are fakes!" yelled Big.  
"Someone stole my seismogems! All of my colossal plans for this planet are ruined!"

"Well, maybe I can help you find the real gems," offered Cream.  
"Where did you last see them?"

"As I recall... that sly, shapely batgirl had them!" Big reflected.

"It must have been Rouge! That sneaky old bat lady we found by your cage," said Cream.

"Then we're gonna go find her!" said Big.

"Drat! Here comes that conniving Snively!" said Bokkun, looking out the window.  
"And that meddlesome foxboy and the others are chasing right behind him!"

"They must be trying to stop Snively from getting to the ship so he can't capture Big again," said Cream.

"No way! I'm not gonna let 'em collar me again!" said Big, jumping to the ships controls.

_Just as Big was starting the engine, Snively arrived just in time to find his ship leaving without him._

"Blasted!" Snively shouted.  
"He's made off with my ship! That could only mean..."

"Is Cream inside the ship with that monster?!" Vanilla screamed.

_They all looked up as the ship ascended and saw Cream poking her head out the window!_

"Don't worry mommy! I'll protect Big!" she called out to them.

"Cream, my baby!" Vanilla cried.

"We'll catch up to them in the Tornado!" said Tails.  
"Brace yourselves everyone, I'm pushing it to full speed!"

_Tails and company gave chase, but Snively's ship proved the faster of the two vessels._

"It's no use, they're getting away!" said Vector.

"The Tornado must've been compromised from that rough flight earlier today," Tails reflected.

"If you shoot those little yellow panels on either side of the ship, they'll lose speed," said Snively.

"You intend to shoot at the ship that's carrying my little Cream?!" asked Vanilla.

"Don't worry, I'm a crack shot," said Tails.

"You must be _**on**_ crack if you think I'm going to let you shoot at my child!" said Vanilla.

_Vanilla reached into the front seat, trying to interfere with Tails' guns._

"Will someone please restrain this, this... _**female**_!" spat Snively.

"Vector! Mind your woman!" Tails ordered.

"Well, um... she's not exactly my, er..." Vector stammered.

"Must I do _everything_?" sighed an exasperated Snively.

_He gave Vanilla a precision punch to knock her unconscious with minimal force._

Whap!  
_Vanilla went out like a light._

"How dare you!" screamed Vector.

"Let it go for now!" said Tails.

_Tails took the shot, and Snively's ship began to stall. Finally, it slowed down to a steady drift._

"Now what?" asked Vector.

"Now we'll board her!" replied Tails.

_Tails took his plane in closer, within inches of Snively's ship. Then he activated metallic pincers on the bottom of the Tornado, clinging it to the opposing vessel._

_By now, Vanilla's eyes began to flutter open. She looked around and quickly regained her senses. Her eyes fell on Vector._

"Vanilla, you're awake!" said Vector.

WHAM!  
_Vanilla bashed the poor, blameless croc over his head._

"Ow! What was that for?!" Vector whined.

"Humph!" Vanilla huffed, indignantly.

"I wasn't the one who knocked you out! It was that funny-looking, little nitwit faggot, Snively!" argued Vector.

"We can deal with Snively's apparent misogynistic issues some other day!" said Tails.  
"Right now, _it's hero time_," he said with a confident smirk.

_They all slid inside the ship through an outside compartment. They found Cream inside with Bokkun, but Big was nowhere in sight._

"Cream! Honey, we've come to rescue you!" said Vanilla.

"What? _Who_ needs rescuing!" Cream protested.

"We have come for the Felidae Giganticus," said Snively.

"You're working with one of Robotnik's henchmen?!" asked Cream.

"Are _you_?" asked Vector, looking at Bokkun.

"But he'll hurt Big!" Cream cried, ignoring Vector's accusation.

"You don't know what you're dealing with here!" said Tails.

"I know you think that Big is your friend..." began Vanilla.  
"But Mr. Snively has explained to us that Big is very bad and dangerous, and he can hurt you unless we allow him to be properly contained."

"So you believe **him** over **me**!" Cream exclaimed.

(_In fact, Vanilla had developed a grudging respect for Snively in this time._)

"Where is that vile creature hiding?!" demanded Snively.

"Answer his question sweetie, this is no time for games!" said Vanilla.  
"Where is Big?"

"What's the point of telling you? _You don't __**trust**__ me_," said Cream, with a stubborn sniff.

"Okay, fine," Tails sighed.  
"Vector, we'll just have to find him ourselves!"

"At least the creature doesn't seem to be as bestial as when it first awoke," said Snively.  
"But his newly restored intellect may prove just as deadly. Watch yourselves," he warned.

_The men went into the adjacent room of the ship, searching for Big. Cream stayed behind with Cheese and her mom. For some reason, Cream got a sly look in her eyes as she looked to the floor, where Froggy lay._

"Okay Big, ...go!" yelled Cream.

_She quickly stomped on the little frog, and against all feasible possibility within natural laws, Big shot out of the tiny amphibian's mouth and was propelled all the way up to the ceiling where the Tornado had landed!!!_

"Cream! What have you done?!" Vanilla cried.

"And how did that huge cat fit into that little frog's belly?" Bokkun chimed in, just for the heck of it.

_Big leapt into Tails' plane and grabbed the controls! The guys all ran back into the room with Cream and Vanilla._

"What's going on in here?!" asked Vector.

"I'll tell you what's going on... **Big is in my plane**!" Tails exclaimed in disgust, pointing up to the ceiling.

"Cream, what were you thinking?!" yelled Vanilla.  
"You just unleashed an ancient evil onto the populous! Big is really a maniacal lunatic bent on destroying the planet!"

"What! You're crazy!" said Cream.  
"Big is not like that at all!"

_Big revved the Tornado's engine._

"Woo-hoo-hoo! Ahh-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!!!" he cackled wildly, as he took off.

"Nooooooooo!!!!" Tails cried.

"Do you see what you've really done now?!" asked Vector.

"But Big is the good guy!" Cream insisted.  
"He's going to use his little chaos emeralds to help us all, right Bokkun?"

"Are you serious?! _**No!!!**_" shouted Bokkun.  
"I just wanted to get back at Snively and then Rouge, but I never should've let it go this far."

"Where are these '_little chaos emeralds_?'" asked Snively.

"That batty jewel thief has them!" said Bokkun.

"If the legends are true, those little emeralds are shards from an ancient emerald of destruction!" said Snively.  
"They would be deadly, especially in the wrong hands."

"Rouge lives near the original crash site where we found Big. We've got to repair the engine and go after them!" said Tails.

_Everyone worked together to get the ship back to running at full speed again, except for Cream who just sat in the corner, pouting like a little brat._

Meanwhile, at Rouge's place...

_Big crash-landed Tails' plane near the spot were he had originally crashed himself. The Tornado was practically totalled._

_Big hopped out of the wrecked biplane and located Rouge's small house nearby. Rouge was lying in bed, her body fully wrapped in bandages. She was still recuperating from the blast of the tiny seismogem that blew up on her earlier. Now a most unwelcome visitor entered her room._

"Ah, there you are!" said Big, as he approached her bed.

_Rouge's eyes widened in terror and she began trembling, though she could barely move._

"I believe you have something that belongs to me, and I want it back!" said Big.  
"And whatever Big _wants_, Big _**gets**_!"

"In... in the closet! Th-th-the closet!" Rouge fearfully moaned.

"Aha! My seismogems!" Big exclaimed, as he reclaimed the droplets of destruction.  
"At last, I can lay the world to waste and crush these puny maggots into submission!"

"Shoot! We got here too late!" said Tails, as he and the others entered the house.

"Step aside, unless you want me to detonate the lot of these gems," said Big.

"You'll destroy yourself too!" said Vector.

"What better way to go, than in the most beautiful act of destruction this world has ever seen?" Big remarked.

"You're mad!" declared Snively.

Ker-SMASH!!!  
_Suddenly one of the walls of the house cracked open as a large, rotating blue ball crashed through it!_

"Sonic! What are you doing here?" Tails exclaimed.

"I thought things might get interesting, so I decided to show up," Sonic replied, nonchalantly.

"Stay back! Or I'll use these things!" Big warned.

"Hmph!" Sonic smirked.

_Big cautiously edged his way out of the house and Sonic seemed to completely ignore him. He just stood there with his arms crossed and held that same indifferent smirk on his face, as Big ran outside to Snively's ship. The others ran outside to see what Big would do._

_Big turned around to taunt them._

"Some heroes you guys are! You can't even stop a fuzzy little kitty from destroying your entire planet!" he laughed.

_At that moment, Cream had stepped out of the ship where she had remained up until now. She heard everything Big just said..._

"Big! It can't be true!" Cream cried.

_Big turned back around to face her._

"You again! Will I never be rid of you and your ridiculous little robot-boyfriend?" he snapped.

"What?!" Cream yelped.

_Bokkun blushed bright red._

"But then again, I guess I couldn't have done all this without your help, you little dimwit!" Big chuckled.

_Cream trembled with anger. She instantly grabbed ahold of Cheese and hurled him straight into Big's face as hard as she could._

WHAM!

"Ah!" Big grunted.

_Big wasn't seriously hurt, but he dropped the container of seismogems as he stumbled backwards. Tails pounced forward and caught the jar before it could hit the ground._

"He's all yours, Sonic!" said Tails.

**Whirrrrrrr**_**-ZOOM!**_

_Within an instant, Sonic was all over Big, circling him with a flurry of dash attacks, cutting into him with his razor sharp quills!_

Chop!  
CHOP!!  
Rrrrrip!!!

"Aaahrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!!!" Big screamed in agony.

_After Big collapsed from the sheer overload of pain, Snively ran up and clasped a neutralizing collar around his neck. Big degenerated back down to his previous form as an overweight, retarded cat._

"What'll we do with him now?" asked Vanilla.

"Well I don't suppose you'll let me keep him for my own experiments, so perhaps the young girl would like to keep him as a pet?" suggested Snively.

"You would let me?" Cream asked her mother.

"I guess he's harmless now, as long as the collar stays on," Vanilla reflected.

"So you'll really just get him cleaned up and take him home with you?" asked Vector.

"You know what..." Tails began.  
"**No**!!! Absolutely not! No freaking way!"

_Tails grabbed ahold of Big and strapped him to the front of what was left of his biplane. Then he hopped inside and flew it all the way to the nearest volcano and let the whole plane crash into the lava along with Big. Tails jumped out at the last minute and flew away to safety on his own power._

_And that was the end of Big The Cat._

Later,  
Back at Cream and Vanilla's house...

_Vanilla sat down with Cream and had a long talk with her, lecturing her about responsibility, trust and respect._

"Now do you understand my concerns and why I have to be restrictive sometimes?" Vanilla concluded.

"Yes, you were right mom," Cream admitted.  
"I've really learned my lesson."

_Vanilla put her hand on Cream's shoulder, comfortingly._

"Well it's good that you're sorry for what you've done, but that isn't all there is to it," said Vanilla.

"It's not?" asked Cream.

"No, I'm afraid that I'll have to punish you too, so you'll remember the lesson you learned," explained Vanilla.

"But I don't want to sit in the corner!" Cream whined in protest.

"Oh, you won't be sitting anywhere," said Vanilla.

_Vanilla used the hand she had laid on Cream's shoulder to shove the girl over her knee. Then she spanked her little bunny heinie, just as Vector had suggested._

whap-whap-slap!  
"Don't you ever pull a crazy stunt like that again, do you hear me girl?!" Vanilla scolded.

"Ow, oo! Yes ma'am!" Cream winced.

"And don't you be sassing me like you did before either! Understand?"  
smack-smack-smack!

"Yes ma'am!" Cream squealed.

"Hmm. Maybe there's something to that Vector fella after all," Vanilla thought, as she continued meting out the punishment.

Epilogue

From then on, Cream understood the boundaries of acceptable behavior and accepted her limitations as just being a kid at this time in her life.

Vector soon realized that Vanilla respected a firm, strong-willed, take-charge sort of man instead of an obsequious groveller, and he began successfully wooing her.

Cheese became an instant celebrity in Chao Gardens around the world, for his role in saving the planet.

Nack The Weasel was incarcerated by the local authorities, but he boasted that he would escape one day.

Rouge made a complete recovery. She returned to her insidious ways, gliding through the skies and slinking through the shadows, ever watchful for that alluring glimmer of precious stones.

As for Snively and Bokkun, they each agreed not to reveal the other's involvement in the sordid little escapade which had transpired. Should the matter become known to Robotnik, they were each likely to suffer punishment as long as the powerful gems were not in his possession. But they both kept plotting their next move, although no one knew what Tails had done with the seismogems.

Tails continued to vigilantly keep an eye out for the welfare of the planet, but everyone realized once again that when things come down to the wire, Sonic The Hedgehog is still the true hero of Mobius.

And they all lived happily ever after. At least until the next time Sonic got drunk and started raising heck for no reason. But everyone loved him anyway.

The End

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